Wanda Nicholson

As Senior Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Director of the GWSPH Office of Inclusive Excellence, a public health leader and physician, Dr. Wanda Nicholson is committed to advancing health equity in communities disproportionately burdened by disease. The Office of Inclusive Excellence is dedicated to creating an inclusive ecosystem and sustainable culture of belonging for students, staff and faculty. Looking through a strategic equity lens, the Office works to help build a diverse public health workforce through mentorship, retention and promotion that reflects the communities we serve and are committed to improving health outcomes and community justice. 

Dr. Wanda Nicholson is a physician dually trained in obstetrics and gynecology and epidemiology, current Vice Chair of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and a researcher in perinatal and women’s population health and health equity. Her research portfolio has centered on social determinants of health and perinatal diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), particularly postpartum CVD prevention. She views women’s health as maternal health and maternal health as an indicator of the social/economic environments where women live and work. Dr. Wanda Nicholson is committed to creating a strategic vision for population health and health equity for organizations and developing and operationalizing research priorities and performance measures for value-based care and better health outcomes. She currently serves as a MPI for a NIH-funded study of long-term outcomes among 2,500 women following gynecologic surgery, Associate Editor for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chair of the Committee on Childbirth and Postpartum Hemorrhage for the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics and serves on the board of directors for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.